Account management module user interface

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for an account management module user interface for NIS servers. According to one embodiment, the account management module is a set of servlets written in a platform independent programming language, such as Java, that allow system administrators to modify, add, or delete NIS information related to users. These users may be humans or other system related machines or programs. According to another embodiment, the servlets stored in a backend database provide screens in a browser. In particular there are three screens which are of importance to the present invention, and include one to display the NIS password, another to display the group maps, and the last to display the auto_home maps. These screens are interactive, which means that system administrators can manipulate the information displayed on the screens.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates primarily to the field of serversin computer systems, and in particular to a method and apparatus for anaccount management module user interface for Naming Information System(NIS) servers.

[0003] Portions of the disclosure of this patent document containsmaterial that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright ownerhas no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patentdocument or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent andTrademark Office file or records, but otherwise reserves all rightswhatsoever.

[0004] 2. Background Art

[0005] NIS servers are being used by several companies to manage thework of NIS masters and other system administrators to add, modify, anddelete user information. These servers help in providing services to theusers based on their status within the company. These services includeaccess to programs, databases, and other hardware equipment. But sincethese servers have to be manually updated to include the current statusof employees within the company, they are not always up to date.

[0006] System administrators and NIS masters are the only ones who haveaccess to alter information on the NIS server, and even though a companymay have a schedule and procedure that needs to be followed, most NISmasters and system administrators have their own schedule, which may notbe uniform throughout the company. This non-uniform schedule issometimes due to the nature of the work carried out on a server. Forexample, some servers are used to test programs or products manufacturedby the company. These servers have to be updated more regularly so thatall employees authorized to use the server have access to the mostcurrent and up to date information. Other servers merely manage thesmooth running of services like email and do not need updating asregularly.

[0007] Furthermore, present systems do not have an user interface thatallows system administrators and NIS masters to make changes which areeasy and intuitive. Currently NIS masters must make changes at a veryrudimentary level compelling system administrators and NIS masters toknow rudimentary programming languages. They also do not have directaccess to the Human Resources (HR) database of the company. Since the HRdepartment is presumably up to date with the status of all employeeswithin the company, having direct access to their database would ensurecurrent and up to date information about all employees. Both of theserequirements would allow system administrators and NIS masters to makechanges, even if they are made on a schedule that is not uniformthroughout the entire company, and this ensures that only validemployees have access to company information.

[0008] Due to the lack of a user interface some system administratorsmay forget to remove the name and access of an employee who no longerworks for the company, and this could lead to the ex-employee being ableto access the server and hence the programs, database, and otherhardware equipment based on his/her employment status within the companyprior to leaving. This could lead to a breach in security, andfurthermore, names of ex-employees along with all of their informationremains in the NIS database occupying precious memory space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention provides a method and apparatus for anaccount management module user interface for servers. According to oneembodiment of the present invention, the server is a Naming InformationSystem (NIS) server. In another embodiment, the account managementmodule is written in a platform independent programming language. Itallows system administrators to modify, add, or delete information fromthe server related to users.

[0010] According to another embodiment of the present invention, theaccount management module is a set of servlets written in a platformindependent programming language, such as Java, that allow systemadministrators to modify, add, or delete NIS information related tousers. These users may be humans or other system related machines orprograms. According to another embodiment, the servlets along with a setof proprietary procedures that are stored in a backend database providescreens in any browser.

[0011] In particular one embodiment uses three screens which are ofimportance to the present invention, and include one to display the NISpassword, another to display the group maps, and the last to display theauto_home maps. These screens are interactive, which means that systemadministrators can manipulate the information displayed on the screens.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription, appended claims and accompanying drawings where:

[0013]FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a NIS domain maintenancescreen.

[0014]FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the main components of a NISdomain maintenance screen.

[0015]FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the creation of a new NISdomain.

[0016]FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the modification of an existingNIS domain.

[0017]FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the deletion of an existing NISdomain.

[0018]FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a NIS group maintenance screen.

[0019]FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the main components of a NISgroup maintenance screen.

[0020]FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the creation of a new NISgroup.

[0021]FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the modification of an existingNIS group.

[0022]FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the deletion of an existingNIS group.

[0023]FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the addition of new members toexisting NIS groups.

[0024]FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the removal of existingmembers from a NIS group.

[0025]FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the creation of a new globalNIS group.

[0026]FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a NIS system user'smaintenance screen.

[0027]FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating the main components of a NISsystem user's maintenance screen.

[0028]FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating the creation of a new NISsystem user.

[0029]FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating the modification of anexisting NIS system user.

[0030]FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating the deletion of an existingNIS system user.

[0031]FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating the creation of a new globalsystem user.

[0032]FIG. 20 is an illustration of an embodiment of a computerexecution environment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0033] The invention is a method and apparatus for an account managementmodule user interface for servers. In the following description,numerous specific details are set forth to provide a more thoroughdescription of embodiments of the invention. It will be apparent,however, to one skilled in the art, that the invention may be practicedwithout these specific details. In other instances, well known featureshave not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention.

[0034] NIS Server

[0035] A NIS server is used by one embodiment of the present invention.A NIS server has three kinds of users that access its database tocreate, modify, or delete data. These users are helped by threeinteractive screens to carry out their tasks optimally. These userscomprise of the NIS Domain users, who are helped by a NIS DomainMaintenance screen to manage the NIS domains, the NIS Group users, whoare helped by a NIS Group Maintenance screen to manage the groups withinthe NIS domain, and the NIS System users, who are not humans butprograms that provide a way to create an account that an application canuse to perform a variety of support tasks, who are helped by a NISSystem User Maintenance screen.

[0036] The Group Maintenance and System User Maintenance screens areaccessible only from the buttons found in the NIS Domain Maintenancescreen, and since the NIS Domain Maintenance screen is accessible bysystem administrators and other personal who have the authority to doso, there is no misuse of these screens by unauthorized users.

[0037] NIS Screens

[0038] The three screens of one embodiment of the present invention,viz. The NIS Domain Maintenance, the NIS Group Maintenance, and the NISSystem User Maintenance screens do share some commonality, and include:

[0039] (a) Status: The status of the last command is always displayed,for instance, in the top left area between the screen title and the tophorizontal line. All NIS screens indicate a status message of “Ready”upon initial loading. Selecting a button on the screen causes thisstatus to be replaced by the results of the selected button's action.

[0040] (b) Dynamic Component Display: Some components of all screens aredynamically resized, added, or removed depending upon the buttonsselected. For example, if a NIS domain is selected in the select box andthe “Select” button is pressed, the select box, which displays the listof NIS domains, changes from 15 rows to 5 rows to use less screen space.

[0041] (c) Passwords: All passwords entered in a NetAdmin screen isimmediately encrypted, and stored in this form in a database for futurereference. But since the password is encrypted, it is not possible foranyone to retrieve the password if the user forgets his/her password inthe future.

[0042] (d) History: All changes made through the NIS screens arerecorded in a history table for future reference.

[0043] The user interface for the NIS servers is 3 screens collectivelycalled the NIS Domain Maintenance screens. The NIS Domain Maintenancescreens are used to maintain information pertaining to NIS domains whichexist in the namespace domain of a company. A complete description aboutNIS servers, and the NetAdmin Account Management Module (AMM) used tomaintain employee records on the NIS servers is contained in co-pendingU.S. patent application “Account Management Module Database Interface”,Ser. No. ₋₋₋/₋₋₋,₋₋₋filed on ₋₋₋,₋₋₋, and assigned to the assignee ofthis patent application.

[0044] The NetAdmin provides the following services for NIS domains,which can be easily accessible and maintained using the intuitive userinterface provided by this application, and include:

[0045] (a) The NIS password, group, auto_home, and aliases maps can beautomatically managed using the amm.jar program to pull information fromthe NetAdmin database.

[0046] (b) The NIS host map can be maintained using the nahost program.

[0047] (c) Global NIS groups and global NIS system users can bereserved. In order to better understand these services, a thoroughunderstanding of the three screens is needed, and their inner workingsare explained below.

[0048] NIS Domain Maintenance

[0049] A NIS Domain Maintenance screen, according to one embodiment ofthe present invention, is illustrated in FIG. 1. At step 100, a NISDomain Maintenance screen is activated. At step 110, it starts up with aset of buttons and components that support selecting, creating, anddeleting a NIS domain. If a new NIS domain is needed at step 120, then anew NIS domain can be added to the list by entering the relevantinformation and pressing the “Add” button at step 130. If an existingNIS domain needs modification at step 140, then it can be modified atstep 150 by pressing the “Modify” button. If an existing NIS domainneeds to be deleted at step 160, then it is removed by pressing the“Delete” button at step 170. At step 180, the main components, which arelocations that require user input, of this screen along with theirfunctionality are loaded. These components are discussed in furtherdetail below, and one embodiment of the present invention is illustratedin FIG. 2, where: p1 (a) NIS Domain Name: The user enters the full nameof the NIS domain, which is seen at step 200. This name is casesensitive, and by convention, should end in the “.company name.domainname”, especially if it is a production domain name. For example,“.Sun.COM”, or “.Nasa.GOV”.

[0050] (b) NIS Master's Hostname: The user enters the hostname of theNIS master for the NIS domain mentioned in (a) above, which is seen atstep 210. The hostname has to be in “host.domain” format, e.g. star.eng.The hostname entered will only work if it has been previously registeredusing the “Host Maintenance” screen.

[0051] (c) Owner: The user enters the name of the owner of fields (a)and (b) above, which is seen at step 220. There is a “search” buttonprovided that can be clicked to reveal a list of all owners pertainingto the names provided in fields (a) and (b) above.

[0052] (d) Contact: The user enters the person's name who is responsiblefor supporting the NIS domain in question, which is seen at step 230.Here too a “search” button is provided to reveal a list of all personnelresponsible for maintaining the NIS domain mentioned in fields (a) and(b) above.

[0053] (e) NIS Domain Listbox: This is a box that contains the names ofall existing NIS domains, and is titled “Select from”. This box revealsup to 15 names at a time which can be scrolled down for more (if thereare any) when the screen is first loaded. At step 240, the user choosesone NIS domain from the list. After a NIS domain has been selected, thislist is reduced to 5 names to conserve screen space.

[0054] (f) Subnets Listbox: Once a NIS domain has been selected, alistbox titled “Subnets” is displayed, which is seen at step 250. Thislist displays all subnets that are associated with this NIS domain. Thislistbox is for display purposes only, and a user will not be able totake any actions on the subnets from this screen. The “NIS Subnets”screen has to be used to modify the subnet's NIS association.

[0055] (g) Groups Listbox: This box is displayed along with the SubnetsListbox, and is seen at step 260. This box contains the names of allexisting NIS groups associated with the NIS domain chosen at step 240above, and is titled “Groups”. Like the Subnets Listbox this one is fordisplay purposes only, and any modification to a group has to be madeusing the “NIS Groups” screen.

[0056] (h) Transition Complete: This is a pair of radio buttons thatindicate with a “Yes”or a “No” whether or not the current selected NISdomain is ready to use the amm.jar pull program to manage its password,group, and auto_home maps, which is seen at step 270. It must be notedhere that changing the transition status button to “No” disables the NISmaster for the selected NIS domain from pulling new NIS information fromthe NetAdmin. In other words, the NIS master will not be able to pullthe password, shadow, group, and auto_home maps.

[0057] (i) A set of buttons are created at step 280. These buttonscomprise of:

[0058] (1) Select: This button is used to load the information from anexisting NIS domain.

[0059] (2) Add: This button is used to create a new NIS domain.

[0060] (3) Modify: This button is used to modify an existing NIS domain.

[0061] (4) Delete: This button is used to delete an existing NIS domain.

[0062] (5) Reset: This button is used to reset the values back to whatthey were when the screen was first loaded (usually the default values).This button is not displayed unless a NIS domain is selected.

[0063] (6) Groups: This button is used to switch to the NIS GroupMaintenance screen (one of the three interactive screens) for the NISdomain selected.

[0064] (7) Global Groups: This button is used to switch to the “NISGroups” screen in order to review or update the NIS group informationfor global NIS groups.

[0065] (8) System Users: This button is used to switch to the NIS SystemUser Maintenance screen (one of the three interactive screens) for theNIS domain selected.

[0066] (9) Global System Users: This button is used to switch to the“NIS System Users” screen in order to create, modify, or delete globalsystem users.

[0067] The steps needed to create, modify, and delete a NIS domain arementioned next.

[0068] Creating A New NIS Domain

[0069] Creating a new NIS domain, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention, is illustrated in FIG. 3, where at:

[0070] Step 300: The ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’ link is chosen from theNetAdmin navigation menu. When the screen is displayed, the ‘NIS DomainName’ and the ‘NIS Master's Hostname’ text fields are empty. The ‘Owner’and ‘Contact’ text fields default to the user's information, and the‘Transaction Complete’ radio button will default to “No”.

[0071] Step 310: The NIS Domain Name is entered.

[0072] Step 320: The NIS Master's Hostname is entered.

[0073] Step 330: The Owner and Contact fields are set. These fields onlyneed to be changed if the owner or contact for the domain is not thesame as the user.

[0074] Step 340: An appropriate value for the ‘Transaction Complete’radio button is set. The button is set to ‘Yes’ if there is no data tobe bulk loaded, and set to ‘No’ if there is data to be bulk loaded.

[0075] Step 350: The “Add” button is clicked to add the new NIS domain.

[0076] Modify Information Of An Existing NIS Domain

[0077] It is possible to modify the NIS Domain Name, NIS Master'sHostname, Owner, Contact, and Transaction status fields using the NISDomain Maintenance screen. An embodiment of this is illustrated in FIG.4, where:

[0078] Step 400: The ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’ link from the NetAdminnavigation menu is clicked. The ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’ screen isdisplayed with all text fields empty.

[0079] Step 410: The ‘NIS domain that needs modification in the NISDomains’ listbox is highlighted. Click on the ‘Select’ button, and theNetAdmin refreshes the page with the information for the selected NISdomain displayed in the screen components.

[0080] Step 420: Changes to the existing displayed values are made.

[0081] Step 430: The “Modify” button is clicked to record the changesmade at step 420 above.

[0082] Deleting An Existing NIS Domain

[0083] Deleting an existing NIS domain, according to one embodiment ofthe present invention, is illustrated in FIG. 5. By deleting a NISdomain, the NIS master for that domain is handicapped as well, since itcannot run the amm.jar pull, and nahost pull programs. The steps indeleting a NIS domain are describe below, where:

[0084] Step 500: A ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’ link from the NetAdminnavigation menu is chosen. The ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’ screen isdisplayed with all text fields empty.

[0085] Step 510: The ‘NIS domain that needs to be deleted in the NISDomains’ listbox is highlighted. The “Delete” button is clicked at step520. At this point the NetAdmin displays a confirmation screen. Thisscreen is seen at step 530.

[0086] Step 540: The newly displayed confirmation screen is created.After confirming that the target NIS domain is correct, the “ConfirmDelete” button is clicked at step 550. NetAdmin deletes the NIS domainand refreshes the screen for another operation at step 560.

[0087] NIS Group Maintenance

[0088] A NIS Group Maintenance screen, according to one embodiment ofthe present invention, is illustrated in FIG. 6. At step 600, a NISGroup Maintenance screen is activated. This screen starts up at step 601with a set of components and buttons that support selecting, creating,or deleting a NIS group. If a new NIS group is needed at step 602, thena user can enter the information for a new NIS group into the screencomponents and click the “Add” button to create a new NIS group at step603. If an existing NIS group needs modification at step 604, it can bemodified by selecting a NIS group from a list and clicking on the“Modify” button at step 605. If an existing NIS group needs to bedeleted at step 606, it can be deleted by selecting a NIS group from alist and clicking on the “Delete” button at step 607.

[0089] The NIS group Maintenance screen can only be accessed by clickingon either the ‘NIS Groups’ or the ‘Global NIS Groups’ button in the ‘NISDomain Maintenance’ screen. The NIS Group Maintenance screen is dividedinto two sections, which is seen at step 608. The top section is used tomaintain information about the NIS groups, and is illustrated at step609, the bottom section is used to maintain information about themembers of the current selected group, and is illustrated at step 610.At step 611, the main components, which are locations that require userinput, of this screen along with their functionality are loaded. Thesecomponents are discussed in further detailed below, and according to oneembodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 7, where:

[0090] (a) Group Name: This is the name of the NIS group, which is theone that shows up in the generated group file, and is seen at step 700.Group names are always lower case characters, and they cannot match anyexisting group name in the selected NIS domain, or any existing globalgroup name.

[0091] (b) Group Number: This is the group number for this NIS group,and is seen at step 701. This number is all digits, and it cannot matchany existing group number in the selected NIS domain, or any existingglobal group number.

[0092] (c) Group Password: This is the password for this NIS group, andis seen at step 702. This filed is not mandatory to fill up. If apassword is chosen, then the password which has two text fields has tobe both filled with the same password.

[0093] (d) NIS Group Listbox: The NIS group listbox is generated at step703. This is a listbox titled ‘Select from the following groups’, whichdisplays all of the existing NIS groups (if any exists).

[0094] (e) Member Name or Employee ID: If the new user to be added is ahuman at step 704, then the Employee ID of the person is entered at step705. If the new user to be added is a system user at step 706, the loginfor the system user is entered at step 707. Both the Employee ID and thelogin have to be active and pre-registered.

[0095] (f) Member Type: If the new user to be added is a human at step704, then the employee id radio button is clicked at step 708, else ifthe new user to be added is a system user at step 706, then the systemradio button is clicked at step 709.

[0096] (g) : A set of buttons are created at step 710. These buttonscomprise of:

[0097] (1) Select: This button is used to load the information for anexisting NIS group.

[0098] (2) Add: This button is used to create a new NIS group.

[0099] (3) Modify: This button is used to modify a current selected NISgroup.

[0100] (4) Delete: This button is used to delete a current selected NISgroup. There is no confirmation when deleting NIS groups.

[0101] (h) Group Member Listbox: The group member listbox is generatedat step 711. This is a listbox titled ‘Select from the followingmembers’, which displays all of the group members (if any exist).

[0102] (i) A set of buttons that support operations on group members iscreated at step 712. These buttons comprise of:

[0103] (1) Add Member: This button is used to add a new user to thecurrently selected NIS group.

[0104] (2) Delete Member: This button is used to delete a currentlyselected member from the currently selected NIS group.

[0105] The steps needed to create, modify, and delete a NIS group, andthe steps needed to add and remove members from an existing NIS groupare mentioned next.

[0106] Creating A New NIS Group

[0107] Creating a new NIS group, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention, is illustrated in FIG. 8, where at:

[0108] Step 800: The ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’ link is chosen from theNetAdmin navigation menu. NetAdmin displays the ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’screen with all text fields empty.

[0109] Step 810: The target NIS domain is selected from the NIS Domains'listbox.

[0110] Step 820: The “Groups” button is clicked. NetAdmin now displays a‘NIS Group Maintenance’ screen with all text fields empty except for anygroups that exist for the selected NIS domain.

[0111] Step 830: The new group name is entered. This name cannot alreadyexist in the currently selected NIS domain, or in a global group.

[0112] Step 840: The new group number is entered. This number cannotalready exist in the currently selected NIS domain, or in a globalgroup.

[0113] Step 850: It is not mandatory to set a group password, but if oneis chosen then it has to be entered twice in the two text fields rightof the ‘Group Password’ label. This is to ensure that the password wasproperly entered.

[0114] Step 860: The “Add” button is clicked to add a new NIS group.

[0115] Modify Information Of An Existing NIS Group

[0116] According to one embodiment of the present invention, it ispossible to modify the Group Name, Group Number, and Group Passwordfields using the NIS Domain Maintenance screen. This is illustrated inFIG. 9, where:

[0117] Step 900: The ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’ link from the NetAdminnavigation menu is chosen. NetAdmin displays the ‘NIS DomainMaintenance’ screen with all text fields empty.

[0118] Step 910: The target NIS domain from the NIS Domains' listbox ischosen.

[0119] Step 920: The “Groups” button is clicked. NetAdmin now displays a‘NIS Group Maintenance’ screen with all text fields empty except for anygroups that exist for the selected NIS domain.

[0120] Step 930: The target NIS group from the NIS Groups' listbox isclicked.

[0121] Step 940: The “Select” button is clicked. NetAdmin redisplays thescreen with the components displaying the information for the selectedNIS group.

[0122] Step 950: Modifications to the existing values are made.

[0123] Step 960: The “Modify” button is clicked to record modificationsmade at step 950 above.

[0124] Deleting An Existing NIS Group

[0125] Deleting an existing NIS group, according to one embodiment ofthe present invention, is illustrated in FIG. 10. Since there is noconfirmation when deleting NIS groups, any members that exist in thegroups deleted also get deleted. The steps in deleting a NIS group aredescribed below, where:

[0126] Step 1000: The ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’ link from the NetAdminnavigation menu is chosen. NetAdmin displays a ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’screen with all text fields empty.

[0127] Step 1010: The target NIS domain from the NIS Domains' listbox ischosen.

[0128] Step 1020: The “Groups” button is clicked next. NetAdmin nowdisplays a ‘NIS Group Maintenance’ screen with all text fields emptyexcept for any groups that exist for the selected NIS domain.

[0129] Step 1030: The group that needs to be deleted in the NIS Groups'listbox is highlighted.

[0130] Step 1040: The “Delete” button is clicked. NetAdmin deletes thegroup and redisplays the screen with a status message, which is seen atstep 1050.

[0131] New members can be added or removed from existing NIS groups.These two features are explained next.

[0132] Adding Members To An Existing NIS Group

[0133] Adding members to an existing NIS group, according to oneembodiment of the present invention, is illustrated in FIG. 11, where:

[0134] Step 1100: The ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’ link from the NetAdminnavigation menu is chosen. NetAdmin displays a ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’screen with all text fields empty.

[0135] Step 1110: The target NIS domain from the NIS Domains' listbox ishighlighted next.

[0136] Step 1120: The “Groups” button is clicked. NetAdmin now displaysa ‘NIS Group Maintenance’ screen with all text fields empty except forany groups that exist for the selected NIS domain.

[0137] Step 1130: The target group in the NIS Groups' listbox ishighlighted next.

[0138] Step 1140: The “Select” button is clicked. NetAdmin redisplaysthe screen with the components displaying the information for theselected NIS group, which is seen at step 1150.

[0139] Step 1160: The name of the system user's login, or the employeeID is entered next. By using the employee ID as a key to add a personallows NetAdmin to automatically remove a person when that person leavesthe company.

[0140] Step 1170: The “System” or “Employee ID” radio button is clickedas appropriate.

[0141] Removing Members From An Existing NIS Group

[0142] Deleting existing members from an existing NIS group, accordingto one embodiment of the present invention, is illustrated in FIG. 12,where:

[0143] Step 1200: The ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’ link from the NetAdminnavigation menu is chosen. NetAdmin displays the ‘NIS DomainMaintenance’ screen with all text fields empty.

[0144] Step 1210: The target NIS domain from the NIS Domains' listbox ishighlighted next.

[0145] Step 1220: The “Groups” button is clicked next. NetAdmin nowdisplays a ‘NIS Group Maintenance’ screen with all text fields emptyexcept for any groups that exist for the selected NIS domain.

[0146] Step 1230: The target group in the NIS Groups' listbox is clickednext.

[0147] Step 1240: The “Select” button is clicked next. NetAdminredisplays the screen with the components displaying the information forthe selected NIS group, which is seen at step 1250.

[0148] Step 1260: The target group member in the Group Members' listboxis highlighted next.

[0149] Step 1270: The “Delete Member” button is clicked to delete thehighlighted entry at step 1260.

[0150] Global NIS Groups

[0151] NetAdmin's AMM makes it possible to create and maintain globalNIS groups, which appear in all NIS domains that are converted to a newformat. The group name, number, and members will remain the same in thenew format. Other limitations include a group name and number that arenot already in use by a group in any converted NIS domain or by anyother global group can be added. The creation and maintenance of theseNIS global groups is explained in further detail below.

[0152] To Create A Global NIS Group

[0153] The creation of a new global NIS group, according to oneembodiment of the present invention, is illustrated in FIG. 13, where:

[0154] Step 1300: The ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’ link from the NetAdminnavigation menu is chosen. NetAdmin displays the ‘NIS DomainMaintenance’ screen with all text fields empty.

[0155] Step 1310: The “Global Groups” button is clicked. NetAdmindisplays the ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’ screen with all text fields empty.

[0156] Step 1320: The Add, Modify, and Delete functions follow the samesteps in the NIS Groups section seen above in FIGS. 8, 9, and 10respectively.

[0157] NIS System Users Maintenance

[0158] System users are accounts, for example UNIX accounts, that do notbelong to a human. In other words, these are users that provide a way tocreate an account that an application can use to perform a variety ofsupport tasks. For example, if a “cron” entry needs to be created and itis not desired to run the command as ‘root’, one can set up a systemuser from whose account the “cron” job can be run as desired. Systemusers are either associated with a specific NIS domain, or are globalsystem users.

[0159] The NIS System Users Maintenance screen, according to oneembodiment of the present invention, is illustrated in FIG. 14. At step1400, a NIS System Users Maintenance screen is activated. At step 1410,it starts up with a set of components and buttons that supportselecting, creating, or deleting a NIS system user. If a new NIS systemuser is needed at step 1420, then a new NIS system user can be added tothe list by entering the relevant information and clicking the “Add”button at step 1430. If an existing NIS system user needs modificationat step 1440, then it can be modified at step 1450 by clicking the“Modify” button. If an existing NIS system user needs to be deleted atstep 1460, then it is removed by clicking on the “Delete” button at step1470.

[0160] The NIS System User Maintenance screen can only be accessed byclicking on either the ‘NIS System Users’ or the ‘Global NIS SystemUsers’ button in the ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’ screen. At step 1480, themain components, which are locations that require user input, of thisscreen along with their functionality are loaded. These components arediscussed in further detail below, and one embodiment of the presentinvention is illustrated in FIG. 15, where:

[0161] (a) Login: User logins in at step 1500. This is the login for thesystem user, which is added to the generated NIS files. All logins arelower case characters, and no logins can be used which are already inuse by a person, by another system user in the current selected domain,by a global system user, or by any secondary alias of a person.

[0162] (b) UID: User id (UID) entered at step 1510. This is the Unix UIDfor the NIS system user, and it comprises of all digits.

[0163] (c) Group ID: Group id (GID) entered at step 1520. This is theUnix GID for the NIS system user, and it comprises of all digits.

[0164] (d) Password: Password entered at step 1530. A password is neededfor all system users, which must be duplicated in both the text fieldsprovided for the password. This ensures that the password was correctlyentered.

[0165] (e) GCOS: GCOS value entered at step 1540. This is the GCOS valuefor the system user that describes the purpose of the system user.

[0166] (f) Home Directory: Home directory information entered at step1550. This is the mount point for the system user's home directory, andis not a mandatory field.

[0167] (g) Shell: Shell information entered at step 1560. This is theshell for the system user, and is not a mandatory field.

[0168] (h) List: This is a listbox titled ‘Select from the followingsystem users’, which displays all of the existing NIS system users (ifany exist), which is seen at step 1570.

[0169] (i) A set of buttons that support operations on system users arecreated at step 1580, and comprise of:

[0170] (1) Select: This button is used to load the information for anexisting NIS system user.

[0171] (2) Add: This button is used to create a new NIS system user.

[0172] (3) Modify: This button is used to modify the currently selectedNIS system user.

[0173] (4) Delete: This button is used to delete the currently selectedNIS system user. There is no confirmation when deleting a NIS systemuser.

[0174] The steps needed to create, modify, and delete a NIS system userare mentioned next.

[0175] Creating A New NIS System User

[0176] Creating a new NIS system user, according to one embodiment ofthe present invention, is illustrated in FIG. 16, where:

[0177] Step 1600: The ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’ link from the NetAdminnavigation menu is chosen. NetAdmin displays the ‘NIS DomainMaintenance’ screen with all text fields empty.

[0178] Step 1601: The target NIS domain from the NIS Domains' listbox isclicked.

[0179] Step 1602: The “System Users'” button is clicked. NetAdmin nowdisplays a ‘NIS System Users Maintenance’ screen with all text fieldsempty except for any system users that exist for the selected NISdomain.

[0180] Step 1603: The login for the new system user is entered.

[0181] Step 1604: The UID for the new system user is entered.

[0182] Step 1605: The GID for the new system user is entered.

[0183] Step 1606: The password for the new system user is entered inboth text fields.

[0184] Step 1607: The GCOS value for the new system user is entered.

[0185] Step 1608: The home directory information for the new system useris entered.

[0186] Step 1609: The shell information for the new system user isentered.

[0187] Step 1610: The “Add” button is clicked to add a new NIS systemuser.

[0188] Modifying Information Of An Existing NIS System User

[0189] It is possible to modify the login, UID, GID, password, GCOS,home directory, and shell fields using the ‘NIS Group Maintenance’screen. One embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG.17, where:

[0190] Step 1700: The ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’ link from the NetAdminnavigation menu is chosen. NetAdmin displays the ‘NIS DomainMaintenance’ screen with all text fields empty.

[0191] Step 1710: The target NIS domain from the NIS Domains' listbox isselected.

[0192] Step 1720: The “System Users”' button is clicked. NetAdmin nowdisplays a ‘NIS System Users Maintenance’ screen with all text fieldsempty except for any system users that exist for the selected NISdomain.

[0193] Step 1730: The target system user from the ‘Select System Users’listbox is chosen.

[0194] Step 1740: The “Select” button is clicked. NetAdmin redisplaysthe screen with the components displaying the information for theselected NIS system users.

[0195] Step 1750: Modifications to the existing values made.

[0196] Step 1760: “Modify” button clicked to register any modificationsmade at step 1750 above.

[0197] Deleting An Existing NIS System User

[0198] Deleting an existing NIS system user, according to one embodimentof the present invention, is illustrated in FIG. 18, where:

[0199] Step 1800: The ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’ link from the NetAdminnavigation menu is chosen. NetAdmin displays the ‘NIS DomainMaintenance’ screen with all text fields empty.

[0200] Step 1810: The target NIS domain from the NIS Domains' listbox ischosen.

[0201] Step 1820: The “System Users”' button is clicked. NetAdmin nowdisplays a ‘NIS System User Maintenance’ screen with all text fieldsempty except for any system users that exist for the selected NISdomain.

[0202] Step 1830: The system user that needs to be deleted in the NISSystem Users' listbox is chosen.

[0203] Step 1840: The “Delete” button is clicked. NetAdmin deletes thesystem user and redisplays the screen with a status message at step1850.

[0204] Global NMS System User

[0205] NetAdmin's AMM makes it possible to create and maintain globalNIS system users, which appear in all NIS domains that are converted toa new format. The login, UHD, GID, password, GCOS, home directory, andshell remains identical in all converted NIS domains. The login and UIDrestrictions mentioned in NIS System Users apply to the global systemusers as well.

[0206] To Create A Global System User

[0207] The creation of a new global system user, according to oneembodiment of the present invention, is illustrated in FIG. 19, where:

[0208] Step 1900: The ‘NIS Domain Maintenance’ link from the NetAdminnavigation menu is chosen. NetAdmin displays the ‘NIS DomainMaintenance’ screen with all text fields empty.

[0209] Step 1910: The “Global System Users” button is clicked. NetAdmindisplays the ‘NIS System Users’ screen with all text fields empty. Anyglobal system users that exist are displayed in the listbox.

[0210] Step 1920: The Add, Modify, and Delete functions follow the samesteps in the NIS System Users section seen above in FIGS. 16, 17, and 18respectively.

[0211] General Characteristics Of Present Invention

[0212] The following are some of the general characteristics of thepresent invention, and include:

[0213] (a) The data displayed in all NetAdmin screens is static data.This means that it is possible for the data to have been changed in thedatabase since the time it is loaded in the screen, but this change isnot reflected in the screen. Selecting the NIS Domain Maintenance linkin the toolbar will always cause the data to be reloaded, hence ensuringa screen with the current data.

[0214] (b) If data is modified, but the “Modify” button is not pressedfor over an hour, the data does not get updated. This happens becausethe operation is invalidated by the authentication process after anhour.

[0215] (c) It may take up to 4 hours for other users to see a newlycreated NIS domain since NetAdmin uses a caching mechanism to cachefrequently accessed data to improve performance. This cache is updatedevery four hours.

[0216] (d) The ‘NIS Group Maintenance’ screen sometimes displays a“*****” in the first password filed until a group is selected.

[0217] Embodiment of a Computer Execution Environment

[0218] An embodiment of the invention can be implemented as computersoftware in the form of computer readable code executed in a desktopgeneral purpose computing environment such as environment 2000illustrated in FIG. 20, or in the form of bytecode class files runningin such an environment. A keyboard 2010 and mouse 2011 are coupled to abidirectional system bus 2018. The keyboard and mouse are forintroducing user input to a computer 2001 and communicating that userinput to processor 2013.

[0219] Computer 2001 may also include a communication interface 2020coupled to bus 2018. Communication interface 2020 provides a two-waydata communication coupling via a network link 2021 to a local network2022. For example, if communication interface 2020 is an integratedservices digital network (ISDN) card or a modem, communication interface2020 provides a data communication connection to the corresponding typeof telephone line, which comprises part of network link 2021. Ifcommunication interface 2020 is a local area network (LAN) card,communication interface 2020 provides a data communication connectionvia network link 2021 to a compatible LAN. Wireless links are alsopossible. In any such implementation, communication interface 2020 sendsand receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals, which carrydigital data streams representing various types of information.

[0220] Network link 2021 typically provides data communication throughone or more networks to other data devices. For example, network link2021 may provide a connection through local network 2022 to local servercomputer 2023 or to data equipment operated by ISP 2024. ISP 2024 inturn provides data communication services through the world wide packetdata communication network now commonly referred to as the “Internet”2025. Local network 2022 and Internet 2025 both use electrical,electromagnetic or optical signals, which carry digital data streams.The signals through the various networks and the signals on network link2021 and through communication interface 2020, which carry the digitaldata to and from computer 2000, are exemplary forms of carrier wavestransporting the information.

[0221] Processor 2013 may reside wholly on client computer 2001 orwholly on server 2026 or processor 2013 may have its computational powerdistributed between computer 2001 and server 2026. In the case whereprocessor 2013 resides wholly on server 2026, the results of thecomputations performed by processor 2013 are transmitted to computer2001 via Internet 2025, Internet Service Provider (ISP) 2024, localnetwork 2022 and communication interface 2020. In this way, computer2001 is able to display the results of the computation to a user in theform of output. Other suitable input devices may be used in addition to,or in place of, the mouse 2011 and keyboard 2010. I/O (input/output)unit 2019 coupled to bi-directional system bus 2018 represents such P/Oelements as a printer, A/V (audio/video) I/O, etc.

[0222] Computer 2001 includes a video memory 2014, main memory 2015 andmass storage 2012, all coupled to bidirectional system bus 2018 alongwith keyboard 2010, mouse 2011 and processor 2013.

[0223] As with processor 2013, in various computing environments, mainmemory 2015 and mass storage 2012, can reside wholly on server 2026 orcomputer 2001, or they may be distributed between the two. Examples ofsystems where processor 2013, main memory 2015, and mass storage 2012are distributed between computer 2001 and server 2026 include thethin-client computing architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc.,the palm pilot computing device, Internet ready cellular phones, andother Internet computing devices.

[0224] The mass storage 2012 may include both fixed and removable media,such as magnetic, optical or magnetic optical storage systems or anyother available mass storage technology. Bus 2018 may contain, forexample, thirty-two address lines for addressing video memory 2014 ormain memory 2015. The system bus 2018 also includes, for example, a32-bit data bus for transferring data between and among the components,such as processor 2013, main memory 2015, video memory 2014, and massstorage 2012. Alternatively, multiplex data/address lines may be usedinstead of separate data and address lines.

[0225] In one embodiment of the invention, the processor 2013 is amicroprocessor manufactured by Motorola, such as the 680×0 processor ora microprocessor manufactured by Intel, such as the 80×86 or Pentiumprocessor, or a SPARC microprocessor from Sun Microsystems, Inc.However, any other suitable microprocessor or microcomputer may beutilized. Main memory 2015 is comprised of dynamic random access memory(DRAM). Video memory 2014 is a dual-ported video random access memory.One port of the video memory 2014 is coupled to video amplifier 2016.The video amplifier 2016 is used to drive the cathode ray tube (CRT)raster monitor 2017. Video amplifier 2016 is well known in the art andmay be implemented by any suitable apparatus. This circuitry convertspixel data stored in video memory 2014 to a raster signal suitable foruse by monitor 2017. Monitor 2017 is a type of monitor suitable fordisplaying graphic images.

[0226] Computer 2001 can send messages and receive data, includingprogram code, through the network(s), network link 2021, andcommunication interface 2020. In the Internet example, remote servercomputer 2026 might transmit a requested code for an application programthrough Internet 2025, ISP 2024, local network 2022 and communicationinterface 2020. The received code may be executed by processor 2013 asit is received, and/or stored in mass storage 2012, or othernon-volatile storage for later execution. In this manner, computer 2000may obtain application code in the form of a carrier wave.Alternatively, remote server computer 2026 may execute applicationsusing processor 2013, and utilize mass storage 2012, and/or video memory2015. The results of the execution at server 2026 are then transmittedthrough Internet 2025, ISP 2024, local network 2022, and communicationinterface 2020. In this example, computer 2001 performs only input andoutput functions.

[0227] Application code may be embodied in any form of computer programproduct. A computer program product comprises a medium configured tostore or transport computer readable code, or in which computer readablecode may be embedded. Some examples of computer program products areCD-ROM disks, ROM cards, floppy disks, magnetic tapes, computer harddrives, servers on a network, and carrier waves.

[0228] The computer systems described above are for purposes of exampleonly. An embodiment of the invention may be implemented in any type ofcomputer system or programming or processing environment.

[0229] Thus, a method for an account management module user interfacefor servers is described in conjunction with one or more specificembodiments. The invention is defined by the following claims and theirfull scope of equivalents.

We claim:,
 1. A method for an account management module user interfacefor a server comprising: providing one or more first servlets for addinguser information; providing one or more second servlets for modifyinguser information; and providing one or more third servlets for deletinguser information, where said first, second, and third servlets arecomponents of a user interface.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein saiduser is human.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein said user is othersystem related machines or programs.
 4. The method of claim 1 where saidfirst, second, and third servlets are written in a platform independentprogramming language.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein said platformindependent programming language is Java.
 6. The method of claim 1wherein said first, second, and third servlets provide one or morescreens in a browser.
 7. The method of claim 6 wherein one of saidscreens displays a NIS password of said user.
 8. The method of claim 6wherein one of said screens displays a group maps of said user.
 9. Themethod of claim 6 wherein one of said screens displays an auto_home mapsof said user.
 10. The method of claim 6 wherein said screens areinteractive.
 11. A computer program product comprising: a computerusable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein foran account management module user interface for a server, said computerprogram product comprising: computer readable program code configured tocause said computer to provide one or more first servlets for addinguser information; computer readable program code configured to causesaid computer to provide one or more second servlets for modifying userinformation; and computer readable program code configured to cause saidcomputer to provide one or more third servlets for deleting userinformation, where said first, second, and third servlets are componentsof a user interface.
 12. The computer program product of claim 11wherein said user is human.
 13. The computer program product of claim 9wherein said user is other system related machines or programs.
 14. Thecomputer program product of claim 11 where said first, second, and thirdservlets are written in a platform independent programming language. 15.The computer program product of claim 14 wherein said platformindependent programming language is Java.
 16. The computer programproduct of claim 11 wherein said first, second, and third servletsprovide one or more screens in a browser.
 17. The computer programproduct of claim 16 wherein one of said screens displays a NIS passwordof said user.
 18. The computer program product of claim 16 wherein oneof said screens displays a group maps of said user.
 19. The computerprogram product of claim 16 wherein one of said screens displays anauto_home maps of said user.
 20. The computer program product of claim16 wherein said screens are interactive.
 21. An apparatus comprising:one or more first servlets configured to add user information; one ormore second servlets configured to modify user information; and one ormore third servlets for deleting user information.
 22. The apparatus ofclaim 21 wherein said user is human.
 23. The apparatus of claim 21wherein said user is other system related machines or programs.
 24. Theapparatus of claim 21 where said first, second, and third servlets arewritten in a platform independent programming language.
 25. Theapparatus of claim 24 wherein said platform independent programminglanguage is Java.
 26. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said first,second, and third servlets provide one or more screens in a browser. 27.The apparatus of claim 26 wherein one of said screens displays a NISpassword of said user.
 28. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein one of saidscreens displays a group maps of said user.
 29. The apparatus of claim26 wherein one of said screens displays an auto_home maps of said user.30. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein said screens are interactive.